Amsterdam is a fantastic city, and it's the first time we've traveled somewhere and would gladly immediately return. It's much cheaper than London and other European capitals, and it's easy to get around as it's compact. We were there in March, so it was not high tourist season and it made for a lovely time. Some call it the "working man's Paris"; it is a welcoming place where time can just drift away. You can wander the streets, stopping here for a pastry and there for a coffee and here for a nice beer and there for some marijuana and here for a prostitute and there for some lovely blue and white pottery.
Scott was not expecting to like Amsterdam - he's been to New Orleans a number of times, and, given Amsterdam's reputation, he expected something like that. It was not like New Orleans at all - it was clean, not abrasive, and very pleasant. While prostitution is legal, it is legal only in a small part of the city, and while you can buy weed, you can get it only in licensed "Coffee Shops." (Remember - Coffee shops sell pot, cafes sell coffee...) Because these things are legalized, controlled, and tied to certain locations, they really are a non-issue. Yes, they are available, but, no, they won't get in your way if you don't want them.
One of the maps we got had Amsterdam by Day on one side and Amsterdam by Night on another. At first, we thought that was silly, but understood why once we arrived. The city transforms in the late afternoon: many shops that were open close at 6, and many places that were closed upon for the evening. This schedule actually caused a problem for us during our first few days. Traditionally on vacation, we go out in the morning, sightsee, and have lunch, come back for a nap, and then go out in late afternoon. However, we realized too late that most shops, museums, and other tourist attractions are only open from 10-6. Plan your day accordingly! It would be better to start out a little later and stay out until 6, then come back for a nap, and then go out.
Where is Amsterdam? Here's an image from worldatlas.com
They use the Euro there, and most things seemed to cost in Euros about what they cost in dollars back home. Since the Euro is just a valued a little more highly than the dollar, the cost of living seemed reasonable.
"Enough of the chatter," I hear you cry, "and on with the pictures!"
The city is full of these narrow row houses. We were told they are narrow and tall because, originally, people paid taxes based the width of their property. Amsterdam was formed as a merchant city, and therefore river-space was key. Most of the buildings are like this - tall and skinny (like the people) with no elevators and twisty narrow stairs. Because of this fact, buildings are still built with a winching hook into the structure of the house:
These are used when people need to haul items up several floors - they open the windows and use the hook to raise the item into the house.
People don't have a lot of room in the city. We saw this creative way to have a garden in the city:
It seemed along the canals, life was orderly:
But in the non-waterway areas, things were more chaotic:
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